This invention relates to vehicle traction control systems, and more particularly to provisions for operating a unified traction control system.
Many vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, buses, and motor homes, and motorcycles are equipped with a stability control system. Stability control systems may take several forms including braking, steering and lateral stability control systems. Generally, the purpose of a traction control system is to enhance the handling and ride performance of a vehicle under dynamic conditions. Discrete control systems for brakes and steering systems usually operate independently of each other utilizing open-loop control system architectures. Such systems have been implemented using a logic-based control methodology. A logic-based control system architecture is limited to systems such as single-input-single-output (SISO) implementations. While a logic-based system may be extended to control perhaps two discrete systems with adequate functionality, such systems may not be robust under conditions including dynamically changing variables having parametric or unstructured uncertainties, and additionally may interfere with each other through undesirable dynamic coupling. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an improved system for controlling a traction control system that overcomes these and other disadvantages.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for unified vehicle dynamics control. The method of the invention describes determining vehicle dynamics data, determining a vehicle dynamics reference model having at least one reference model parameter, and providing the reference model parameter to a closed-loop sliding mode control system. A sliding mode control system substantially maintains the state of reference model parameters based on the vehicle dynamics reference model and the vehicle dynamics data.
In accordance with the invention, a method and system is directed to a computer readable medium containing a computer program comprising computer readable code for determining vehicle dynamics data, determining a vehicle dynamics reference model having at least one reference model parameter, and providing the reference model parameter to a closed-loop sliding mode control system. A sliding mode control system substantially maintains the state of reference model parameters based on the vehicle dynamics reference model and the vehicle dynamics data.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a vehicle including a unified system for vehicle dynamics control is provided comprising means for determining vehicle dynamics data, means for determining a vehicle dynamics reference model having at least one reference model parameter, a closed-loop sliding mode control system and means for providing the at least one reference model parameter to the sliding mode control system. The sliding mode control system substantially maintains the state of reference model parameters based on the vehicle dynamics reference model and the vehicle dynamics data.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.